


A Remembrance

by likethenight



Series: Silent Affinity [3]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Friendship, Gen, Memorials, Sailing To Valinor, Valinor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24913243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likethenight/pseuds/likethenight
Summary: After his arrival in Valinor, Legolas fulfils some promises and delivers a gift from the White Lady of Ithilien to the Elf she befriended at Helm's Deep so long ago.
Series: Silent Affinity [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/39970
Comments: 5
Kudos: 11
Collections: Tolkien Gen Week 2020





	A Remembrance

**Author's Note:**

> I re-read this series the other week on getting back into the LotR fandom with something of a vengeance, and thought to myself that it would be nice to write a piece set in Valinor, with Legolas bringing word of Éowyn to Rúmil. And then I had a rummage through my WIPs and realised I'd actually already written one. It only needed a little bit of finishing off, and here it is.

Valinor is a peaceful haven, a land of quiet beauty where my people may find rest after they grow weary of Middle-Earth. We are all here, now, or almost all, only a few of us still remaining behind at Imladris, a handful still in the colony in Ithilien, my father lingering in the Greenwood. Our time in Middle-Earth is long over, and the realm of Men is at hand.

I visited Imladris before I left, one last visit to the Last Homely House and the sons of Elrond, alone in the halls and gardens but for their grandfather and a small handful of their most loyal companions. Their father had sailed long ago, their sister slept the sleep of Men, and still yet they delayed their choice, unable to decide between Middle-Earth and Valinor. I could well understand their dilemma, but I took my leave with a fare-thee-well and an until-we-meet-again, unwilling to think that this would be the last time I saw them.

I passed also through the Golden Wood, paying my respects one last time to the Evenstar in her eternal rest. She had been a good friend to me, the very best, and I would carry her memory with me always and bear all the news of her I could to her parents across the Sea. There was nobody there now, none of the Galadhrim, none of the fair folk of Lórien, all of them gone with their Lady or their Lord, and the forest was silent but for the faint sounds of the birds and the animals, going about their own peaceful lives.

There was a small welcoming party for us, when we arrived. I steered our boat in beside the pier and helped Gimli to his feet, looking up to see that our old friends had come to greet us. Frodo and Sam, the cares of their lives all but erased from their faces, the Lord and Lady of the Golden Wood, Elrond and his fair lady wife, and my own mother, reborn here in the Undying Lands, joy and peace upon all of their faces. We were late, we came without so many of our dearest ones, but here and now, at long last we were home.

I built myself a little house by the shore, as I had promised myself, and Gimli came to share it with me, though he slept more than woke, these days. I did not see many of my people for a long time, for in truth, though I was home now, still I felt a little apart, a little out of place. I had seen things, done things, that the others had not, I had lived almost in the world of Men, and I missed my mortal friends and my lost love almost more than I could imagine, although simply being here in Valinor was beginning to calm the ache of loss inside me.

But still, I had messages to deliver, news of those who had been left behind, and I fulfilled my promises to each and every one of them. To Elrond and Celebrían I brought glad tidings of their daughter's happiness, and perhaps the hope that they might yet see their sons again. To Frodo and Sam I brought the news of Merry and Pippin and their long, happy families. And to one other I brought a tale and a gift that he was not expecting, and I think that brought me the most pleasure of all.

I found Rúmil of the Galadhrim in the forest that rolled down to the shore, drifting between the trees as if he were one of them, a spirit made flesh to walk under their dappled shade. He did not expect to see me, but he greeted me with a smile, hand over his heart, and I returned the greeting in kind.

"I bring news," I said, "and word from Middle-Earth, from one who wished you well."

He frowned in confusion, and I knew that he was searching his memory for one whom he had left behind. "There is no one in Middle-Earth who knows me," he said after a moment, "for all my people sailed West with me."

"No one now, perhaps," I said, "but once there was one who remembered you with fondness, and she asked me to bring this greeting to you when finally my time came to leave. The White Lady of Ithilien wished me to remember her to you, and to convey to you her thanks for what you did for her."

"The White Lady of Ithilien? I know no such name," said Rúmil, and I smiled.

"You did not know her by name," I said, "and you met her but once, long ago. But she remembered you for the rest of her days, and I'd wager you'll remember her too, when I tell you that she was once a shieldmaiden, the princess of Rohan, and you brought each other great comfort after the battle at Helm's Deep."

I saw the realisation dawn upon him, and a slow smile began to spread across his face. "The shieldmaiden," he said, "yes, I remember her. She was so strong, even in the face of her grief and that of her people. She made me realise that the race of Men are more than the tales would have us believe."

I smiled. “Éowyn of Rohan was always strong, even when she was close to breaking. She told me once that you saved her from breaking, that night upon the wall. You comforted her and gave her new strength, and she was ever grateful to you for it."

"She saved me, too," he said. "The grief was too much for me, and I think I would have broken too, if it were not for her." He smiled again. "We understood not a word of each other's language, but somehow it didn't matter. She was happy, in her life?"

"She was. She slew the Witch-King before Minas Tirith and was sorely injured, but she married the second son of the Steward of Gondor, and they lived out their days in Ithilien, near to my colony. They healed each other's wounds, and they were happy. They named their son Elboron, though he had no elven blood, and that, I think, was her tribute to you and to our people. She never forgot you, Rúmil." I reached into my tunic and drew out a small package, wrapped in silk, and handed it to him. "She gave me this, the last time I saw her, not long before the end. She asked me to give it to you, if I ever saw you again, as a remembrance of her, and a token of her thanks for what you did for her."

Rúmil unwrapped the silk to reveal a brooch in the shape of a running horse, its flowing lines and bright jewels testament to the fine craftsmanship of the people of Rohan. He let his fingers flutter over it, tracing its outline, and then looked up at me with another smile. "She seemed fascinated with my armour, that night. Now I see why, if she came from a people of such artistry. It is different from ours, but no less beautiful." He stroked one finger gently along the horse's back and down its tail. "I did not forget her, not truly. I was simply not expecting to hear of her again. She was a great friend to me that night, and perhaps we might have been friends in truth, had things been different. Thank you, Legolas, for bringing this to me."

I placed my hand over my heart, inclined my head, a gesture of respect and acknowledgement. "It was my pleasure. She was a great friend to me, too, and I was lucky enough to know her for the rest of her life, short though it was. I am glad to be able to fulfil her last request to me, and glad that it has brought you happiness.”

“It has,” said Rúmil. “And not a little sorrow, that I was never able to know her. But as you know, I had to take my brother back to Lothlórien with what remained of our regiment, and after that we were engaged in clearing the last of the Orcs from around the Golden Wood. And then our time in Middle-Earth was ended, and we came here.”

I nodded; I knew well that the loyalty of Rúmil and his brothers lay with Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn, and even if I had asked them, they would not have come to Ithilien to help me found my little colony. But then again, I had never asked, and perhaps I should have done.

“Regrets serve for nothing now,” I said after a moment, hoping I could take my own advice. “Just know that she was happy.”

Rúmil smiled. “That knowledge brings me joy. And you, Legolas, were you happy? I must assume that you were, for you took your time in coming here.”

I answered his smile with one of my own, filled with both joy and sadness. “I was. I stayed for Estel, but I found someone who eased the Sea-longing in my heart, and though he is long gone now, for as long as I had him I was happy.”

“Then I am glad for you,” said Rúmil, and for a time we sat under the trees and spoke of our lives since last we had seen each other, until his brother Orophin came seeking him and I realised that it was time to return to my little house and wake Gimli for his dinner.

“Thank you, Legolas,” said Rúmil, smoothing his thumb over the brooch I had given him. “While one yet lives who remembers her, she will not truly die.”

“And there are two of us to speak of her and to keep her memory alive,” I said, and I bade him farewell, knowing that we would meet again before too long, and I would tell him more tales of Éowyn of Rohan and Ithilien, our mutual friend.

**Author's Note:**

> This also acts as something of a coda to my other series [A Little Piece of the Sea](https://archiveofourown.org/series/39969), since they take place in the same 'verse; the lost love Legolas mentions, who eased the Sea-longing for him, was Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth. And this Legolas also appears in my series [My Heart Is An Empty Vessel](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902442), which focusses on the relationship between his Ada and Bard of Dale, but crosses over with A Little Piece of the Sea here and there, and also gives a few insights into Legolas' life between leaving his father at the Battle of the Five Armies and reconciling with him some time later, as well as a bit more of what he does in Valinor.


End file.
